A Sociological Perspective on Expertise in Conference Interpreting : A case study on Swedish Conference Interpreters

This paper investigates how conference interpreters with Swedish as A-language working in international institutions understand the concept of expertise. Ten interpreters with Swedish mother tongue and working in the Swedish booth at the European institutions were interviewed in two focus groups (n=5) about their opinion of professional identity. The result was then compared to the findings of a survey of the official discourse of conference interpreting at the European institutions and the International Association of Conference Interpreter (AIIC). Some possible norm-related activities were identified. This paper investigates how conference interpreters with Swedish as A-language1 working in international institutions understand the concept of expertise. Ten interpreters with Swedish mother tongue and working in the Swedish booth at the European institutions were interviewed in two focus groups (n=5) about their opinion of professional identity. The result was then compared to the findings of a survey of the official discourse of conference interpreting at the European institutions and the International Association of Conference Interpreter (AIIC). Some possible norm-related activities were identified